Although running is my main source of cardiovascular exercise, I also try to cross-train by practicing yoga one day a week. A runner cross training with yoga might sound like an odd practice, but the two exercises are actually quite complementary. But before I discuss the benefits of yoga for runners, let me first explain the benefits and challenges of running.

Benefits of Running – Running is an awesome exercise for weight loss because it burns major calories. It also provides the cardio exercise that your heart needs to stay healthy. Running also is considered a weight-bearing exercise, building muscles in your legs, glutes, arms, and back. Not to mention, running is very inexpensive, all you need is a pair of good running shoes and a path or street.

Challenges of Running– The downside to this is that running works the same muscle groups each time you run. So, unless you cross train, you don’t get much of a workout for these “off” muscles. This constant pounding with no change in exercise strategy may also make you more prone to injuries.

That is where yoga comes in.

Benefits of Yoga for Runners

Learn Better Breathing – Both exercises depend on very smooth and controlled breathing. Runners who can improve their VO2 max (the maximum amount of oxygen they consume during exercise) can ultimately improve their running performance. Yoga, when practiced correctly, also can help you increase your VO2 levels. So, if you’re still trying to find your breathing rhythm for running, yoga may help you find it. Likewise, if you’ve mastered breathing for running, then it should be an easy jump for you to adapt to yoga breathing.

Builds Your Core – Yoga is great for strengthening a runner’s core, the body’s foundation for all movement. Runners with a strong core, including abs and lower back, tend to run faster and harder than those with a weak core.

Works Opposite Muscles – According to Yoga Journal, a typical runner experiences too much pounding, tightening, and shortening of the muscles and not enough restorative, elongating, and loosening work. Without opposing movements, the body will compensate to avoid injury by working around the instability. Compensation puts stress on muscles, joints, and the entire skeletal system, and may eventually lead to injuries. Yoga strengthens your intrinsic muscle groups that support and strengthen the body’s skeletal system. It also provides a nice counter balance to a runner’s one-dimensional workouts.

Improves Flexibility – Most runners would agree that you don’t have to be flexible to be a good runner, but being flexible does not hurt running efforts, and it may even help. Runners who are flexible are often less prone to injury, recover more quickly from runs, and see improvements in overall strength and endurance. Yoga can be used to work opposite muscles groups but it can also increase a runner’s flexibility, especially in the hips.

Provides a Break – When you’ve been running as long as I have, you can easily get burned out and even a little bored with running if you don’t change it up every so often. As with any cross training activity, yoga gives you a physical and mental vacation from running and may give you the energy boost you need to continue with your running workout each week.

So why am I smiling? Well, mainly because I have big things on the horizon. Let me explain….

As most of you know, work has been crazy busy and will continue to be that way until the end of the year. I’m in charge of a $3.5 million project at work that will hopefully lead to many good things in my career. But that’s only part of the reason why I’m smiling. I also am smiling because:

Fitness – I can honestly say I am in the best shape in my adult life. Quite honestly, I’ve never been out of shape in my adult life, but this summer, I have really been ramping up the running and yoga, which makes for great toning!

Blogging – I have major things in store for Running With Cake and Bistro Chic which will include site redesigns, several giveaways, food, travel, and more! I wish I could share more with you but mum’s the word for now.

Travel – Although my job is very stressful, it is about to take me to some wonderful cities, including San Francisco, Vancouver, and possibly NYC. I’m looking forward to meeting up with Annelies from Attune Foods, One Healthy Apple, and Suki, who all live in the San Fran area. It will be like our own mini Healthy Living Summit! By the way, if there are any HLS or Fit Bloggin attendees from Vancouver, drop me a note – I might have time to meet up!

Family – I have an incredible husband who is not only tech/social media savvy, but he is also very understanding when it comes to blogging and trying to reach my goals. Mr. C and Ms. M are also wonderful and very patient when it comes to their blogger mommy. And my in-laws are a God-send for all the help they provide with the kids and the house. I couldn’t do all of these things without you!

So as you can see, things are moving very quickly in my life. I hope you stick around and find out what happens on my personal “reality show”!

And on that note….

Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

As you all know, I’ve been at the Healthy Living Summit in downtown Chicago for the last 2 ½ days. As many of you know, Chicago hosts the “Taste of Chicago” every year in June/July. It’s essentially a HUGE taste festival of the many restaurants in the Chicago area. Seeing as I’m from Chicago, I thought I would offer you a “Taste of HLS” – a short recap of all of the things I experience and “tasted” at the conference. In just 2 1/2 days, I managed to:

4) Take an early AM walk with some wonderful women around Chicago’s “Bean” and even caught a glimpse of morning tai chi! Thank you to A Girl and Her Mutt for arranging! Sadly, I am the one taking the picture so I’m not in it 🙁

5) Enjoy a wonderful breakfast by Quaker Oats and Stoneyfield yogurt. 6) Listen to some amazing sessions about nutrition for athletes, food photography, and time management;

10) Get a little too friendly with some salad that ended up on my head. Thanks Chiaseedme!;

11) Go on a very cool 3-hour tour by Tastebud Tours sponsored by Arnold and Oroweat – Lynn, you rock! The tour included stops at the Bergoff and the Billy Goat Tavern (Cheezborger, Cheezborger, Cheezborger, no fries, Cheezborger);

12) Run a fairly decent 10K on Sunday AM along the lake shore; 13) enjoy an outstanding farewell brunch by Thomas’ bagel thins where we were encouraged to make a new cream cheese creation. I made a walnut, pineapple, and raspberry mix – fantastic!

14) And, last but not least, say goodbye to some fabulous bloggers – I hope I will all of you again next year!

Thank you to all the sponsors and especially to the HLS planning committee for all of your hard work in making this a conference of epic proportion.

Now, for all of you non-attendees…The Healthy Living Summit Swag Bag Giveaway!

Before, during, and even immediately after the event I read about so many of you who wanted to come but could not due to work, school, finances, etc. I hope that you can all attend next year because this conference was truly worth the money.

And for all of you who could not make it to the Healthy Living Summit this year, you have a chance to experience a little piece of HLS via Running With Cake! As you probably heard, HLS attendees received some very hefty swag bags thanks to the many sponsors and the HLS planning committee. There’s no way I’m going to use all of my swag so I’m giving some of my goodies away to you!

That’s right – I’m giving away two HLS goodie packs to two fortunate readers. Here are some of the items that will be divided between the bags:

A reusable grocery/gym bag by Frito Lay or Oroweat

Oroweat travel coffee mug

$4 and $1 coupons for Arnold/Oroweat products

$10 giftcard to subway (only one of these, sorry!)

Free Stoneyfield yogurt coupon

Frioto Lay Chips

Quaker Granola Bar

Free Attune food coupon

Oh Nuts! cashews or peanuts

Arnold and Oroweat recipe cards and measuring spoon

A surprise gift from me!

How to enter:

Leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite product/brand is from the ones I mentioned above. OR…

Tweet/Retweet this post over Twitter

Do either of those things by 9 PM Eastern on Thursday, August 19, and you will be automatically entered. I will then randomly select the two winners and let you all know who won!

Morning everyone! I just came back from my awesome 5.5 mile run! We’ve finally had a reprieve from the heat so it’s been much cooler in the mornings, which makes for much easier running.

This cooler weather reminds me that summer is quickly coming to an end, sniff…But that also means that Autumn will be here very soon. For those of you who have been following me all the while, you know that Fall is my favorite time of year. Aside from the cooler weather, I love all of the Fall activities – apple picking, pumpkin picking, hay rides, corn mazes, etc. I’m trying not to wish for Fall too hard, because it also means that my BIG business meeting will be here soon, and I’m so NOT ready for that.

Healthy Living Summit Update

Business Cards – I mentioned last week that I had ordered business cards for the Healthy Living Summit – well, they arrived yesterday, 4 days early! I am extremely happy with the service and the results – they turned out perfect! If you haven’t already ordered business cards for your blog, I highly recommend ordering them from Moo Cards. They are a British company (which I love!) that specializes in design-your-own paper products, like business cards, holiday cards, etc. The Moo Card system is very easy to use and you can either choose from one of their many designs or you can upload your own images to put on the cards. I decided to go with one of the premade designs and add my own graphic on one side. I can’t wait to show them off at HLS!

HLS Giveaway – Also, for all of you bloggers going to HLS, I will be bringing a few goodies to give away! I will only have about 50, so find me early and you may be one of the lucky ones who gets a giveaway! I’m going to try posting a picture of it later so stay tuned!

Cocktail Dress Search – I’ve been out shopping twice this weekend to find a cute cocktail dress and I’ve had NO luck! I waited too long as usual so all of the cute summer dresses are picked over or gone completely. Blah! I hate when I procrastinate buying clothes that I need. It puts me in a desperate situation where I’ll end up buying things I don’t really like for too much money.

Frito Lay Tour – I’m also a little unsure about what I’m going to wear on the Frito Lay Tour. We are not permitted to wear shorts, jeans, or open-toed shoes. However, long capris are fine. I’m just not sure how capris look with close-toed shoes??? Some of you have mentioned wearing yoga pants, which I may decide to do – thank goodness Lucy always has cute yoga pants in stock!

Gotta run, my in-laws are coming over and I’ve got to get crackin’ on the cleaning 🙂

Hey all! Like my new bike? It’s a tricycle for adults – how cool is that!!! Well, it’s not really mine, it’s my mother-in-law’s and she bought it at a garage sale for $25 – what a steal! I was over her house for dinner yesterday and just had to take it for a test run. Although, I didn’t go very far because I was blocked in by the cars – he he! All I need is a little basket and a bell and I will be all set for my next ride! Maybe I should convince MIL to pull a big seat behind her and start her own rickshaw business in downtown Chicago 🙂

On another note….I just ordered my Moo Cards (business cards) for the Healthy Living Summit. They are so cool! Because I write for two blogs, RWC and Bistro Chic, I tried to combine the two. I guess we’ll see how they turn out next week!

Speaking of the Healthy Living Summit, I just received more details today about the Frito Lay tour in Beloit, WI. I’m so excited that there are 30 people going! It’s going to be so much fun! But, I am sooo not thrilled about wearing a hairnet. I don’t recall ever wearing a hairnet, so this will be my first time. They kind of freak me out a little, reminding me of the old lunch ladies at my elementary school. Anyone else have hairnet-a-phobia? Aside from that, the rest of the tour sounds very interesting. Although, they did tell us we are limited on taking photos – that is NOT something you want to tell picture happy health/fitness/food bloggers! But wait, they said there will be snacks on the bus – ok, you had me at snacks!

Before I sign off for tonight, I want to give a shout to to Leah at Bookieboo. She was featured on Yahoo today (via Woman’s Day) for her amazing weight loss story and all of her work on Bookieboo (which I am very proud to write a running column for!) and Mamavation. Congrats Leah!

Oh yoga, how I missed you! I finally made it to yoga after missing class for two weeks straight. I absolutely love the yoga instructor at my studio. I know I’ve said that before, but she is one of the reasons I get up so early on Saturday mornings, just to get there 30 minutes before class so I can reserve a space. Yes, she is THAT good! I happened to see her at Target last week (after I missed her class). I ducked into another aisle – I didn’t want her to remember I missed her class. Plus, Ms. M and Mr. C were not being very Zen-like. But, yesterday’s class was amazing as usual. We did quite a few hip openers, which I really needed since I did a bunch of lunges on Thursday morning and was still feeling it two days later.

And Speaking of Yoga

Have you ever been in a yoga class and not understood what the instructor says? This happens to me more often than I like to admit. I usually just watch someone else in the class, hoping that I’ll catch on. I’ve also been in a situation where my instructor says something in yoga-ese (aka Sanskrit) and I’m just clueless. I find that nodding and looking very serious only goes so far. Well, if these things have ever happened to you, you’re in luck!

Last month, I received an awesome little book – 27 Things to Know About Yoga. Or, as I like to call it, everything you wanted to know about yoga but were afraid to ask, book. The book was sent to me for review, which I am totally grateful! I learned quite a bit from this book, despite it being only 176 pages. But that’s one of the real pluses of the book, it’s short, very easy to read, and provides just enough detail to make you feel smarter about yoga.

It’s All Sanskrit To Me

For instance, I finally learned what yoga mudra is! It’s a symbolic physical gesture usually made with the hands, ie. Hands together at heart center. So yesterday, when my yogini said, “brings your hands into yoga mudra”, I nodded reassuringly and felt much better that I was not the clueless one in the room. I imagine a conversation with the lady next to me….Excuse me, do you speak Sanskrit? Why yes, I do.

Other Things I learned About Yoga

The types of yoga – It really is great for a quick review and follow-up reference, but not if you want to go really in-depth in one area.

Yoga Manners – For the most part, I follow good manners for yoga, according to what is spelled out in the book. Although, I have been guilty of leaving before the end of savasana – no one is perfect.

The teacher makes the student – I could have written this chapter!!! Although I totally know this from experience, the book really reinforced this principle.

Now, For the Yoga Book Giveaway!

If you want to brush up on your Sanskrit or want to learn about the limbs of yoga, you have the opportunity to do just that! I’m giving away one copy of 27 Things to Know About Yoga to one reader. How to enter the Yoga book giveaway – just leave a comment on this post, or retweet this post and voila….you’re entered! You have until Wednesday, August 4, at 10 PM Eastern to enter. Come on Healthy Living Summit attendees, show me some love!

Yesterday, Scott and I took the kids to the Renaissance Faire at the local library. I have to say – my local library is awesome!!! When I was growing up, we had a terrible library – or at least a terrible kids’ section. But my local library now is very modern and has all kinds of activities for adults and children. This summer, they’ve even been lucky enough to host the Harry Potter traveling exhibit – the only library in the area to do this! So yesterday, we drove 5 minutes to the library to be transported into Harry Potter’s World and to experience a little Medieval living.

The Harry Potter Exhibit had more than I thought it would have. From life-size cut-outs of the characters, to interactive and hands-on activities for kids (and me). As you can see from the photos, I was not shy about being sorted into my Hogwarts’ House – Gryffindor of course! Ms. M put the hat on and it completely engulfed her head – she was not crazy about that. After the exhibit, we headed outside to see a little Medieval fighting. Of course, Mr. C loved the fighting and the costumes. What’s crazy is that grown men actually do this as a hobby, going from exhibit to exhibit. What’s even crazier is that I like it!

OK, have to get running! I’m still not feeling the greatest today. But I’m going to take some Tylenol and hedge my bets. Have a great day all!

Spending time in our pool with a frozen drink – I did spend a LOT of time by the pool which was extremely refreshing. And, I did have one or two frozen drinks, but who’s really counting?

Shop at my own leisurely pace – I did shop at my own pace, which is just heavenly when I’m used to carting around 2 impatient kids

Trying a new restaurant sans kids – Scott and I did meet for lunch one day, although it was at Wildfire, a restaurant we’ve been to several times.

Attending my first Hot Yoga class – Didn’t make it to hot yoga, but I did attend a fantastic hatha yoga class on Saturday!

Going to Great America with the kids – We did do this and it was so much fun! Makes me want to go back to Disney, hence the vacation dreaming….

Eating tart frozen yogurt – I’m bummed I didn’t get to do this. It’s on my list for this weekend though!

See Letters to Juliet before it leaves the theatre – I didn’t get to the movies at all. Letters to Juliet has been out for a while so it was very hard to find an accommodating show time that was near my house. Ugh – guess I’ll wait for the video!

As of 5 PM today, I am officially on vacation for 10 days! Woo hoo! I can just feel the stress starting to melt away. I take vacation around this time every year because after the week of July 4, my world becomes even crazier due to work projects. Seriously, I am not a very friendly person from about July 15-November 1 – stay away! I do promise to be happy at the Healthy Living Summit!

The first part of my vacation I will be entertaining out-of-town guests (Yay, my sis is coming to visit!). We have plans to make at purse at 1154 Lill or at least take in the Chicago sites. But beyond that, I don’t have any hard-core commitments for my “staycation”. I have to admit, I’m a little apprehensive of staycations. For me, they end up being days to run errands, clean, make appointments, etc. Not very fun or vacation-like.

But this year, I’m going to try to make my July vacation different. Due to my out-of-town guests, all of my in-house cleaning and yard work will be done before my guests even arrive – fingers crossed 🙂 . So with all of my “house work” complete (although I’m sure I’ll find something to clean!), I’m left with just fun things to do, including:

Spending time in our pool – Give me a frozen drink and plenty of sun and I will be just fine!

Browsing at some of Chicagoland’s boutique shops – at my own leisurely pace of course

Trying a new restaurant sans kids

Attending my first Hot Yoga class – finally!!

Going to Great America with the kids

Eating tart frozen yogurt – just because it’s awesome!

Going to the movies – I want to see Letters to Juliet before it leaves the theatre!

Many of these things may seem like everyday things to some of you, but for a person who has 2 young children, a husband, two blogs, and full-time job, actually doing any of these things will be a major accomplishment!